Global Female Condom Conference 2015 resume

The Global Female Condom Conference 2015 was a truly exciting and inspiring event. A great variety of stakeholders from all over the world gathered to take female condoms to the next level. Relive the conference through this conference resume.

In the media: Special program on female condoms. Cameroon, CRTV (English)

Participants take the floor: Esther Agbarakwe, ARFH

“At the conference I’ve learned that it is important to improve the role of men in increasing the use of female condoms. Men are the ones who are buying the condoms, because they have been doing that ever since there were male condoms available. So they need to be convinced to purchase female condoms to support their partner.”

Session highlighted: the South African experience with parallel programming

“Give whatever condom they want”

Imagine this: you visit a pharmacy and you don’t just find one female condom product, but two or even more. In 2014, the South African government decided to make this into reality. It became the first country with a programme that aims to offer people a choice in female condoms. But why? And what are the lessons learned so far from the so called parallel programming?

Bongiwe Zulu of MatCH Research presents the preliminary results of the evaluation of parallel programming in South Africa.

“We want people to use a protection method. People are all different, so we need to give them a choice,” Eva Marumo from the Department of Health from South Africa explains. The department is investing in the distribution of the two female condom products that have now been prequalified by WHO and UNFPA: the FC2 and the Cupid condom. But according to Marumo it won’t stop there. “We hope for new developments, so we can increase the options for people.”

Proper information
MatCH Research evaluated the first year of parallel programming in South Africa by interviewing health workers, consumers and experts from NGOs and the government. An important conclusion is that offering options can’t go without proper information about these options. “Health workers often only have promotion materials of one product,” says Bongiwe Zulu, one of the researchers. “Most of them don’t have adequate knowledge to inform communities either. They need to be trained.”

Positive
The overall opinion from health workers and consumers on parallel programming is very positive, the evaluation shows. “It’s their right, give whatever condom they want,” was the reaction of one of the interviewees. Another respondent won the originality award for praising a variety of products on the market: “We all need shoes to protect our feet. But some like wearing heels, some like wearing sneakers.”

Tuesday, 1 December, 2015

Participants take the floor: Jane Bruning, Positive Women Inc.

Jane Bruning, Positive Women Inc., New Zealand

“You shouldn’t look at female condoms only from a development perspective. Female condoms are a great product that provides you another choice to keep control over your body. That’s not only important for developing countries, but for the whole world.”

Blog: Good news to brighten our bedrooms

Nowadays, I often lie awake at night. So much to worry about, with conflicts, refugees and innocent victims in the news every day. I feel it is time for some good news to brighten our bedrooms, news feeds and twitter pages. What better than to have sex: pleasurable, worry-free and safe sex! From 1 to 3 December, make sure you follow #GFCC15 and #femalecondoms on Twitter and Facebook to learn more about how to go about that.

Durban at night.

Nothing so soothing as getting in the mood. Forgetting the world around you for a moment. Getting ready for some good, worry-free and safe sex. In a state of bliss, no need to fear for an unplanned pregnancy, or worry about STIs or HIV. Luckily, you can sigh with relief… Because two hours ago, you inserted your female condom. Female condoms are pleasurable, worry-free and safe. The ultimate recipe for your bedroom adventures.

Despite all these benefits to (young) women ánd men, female condoms are still too scarcely available and too little promoted as a contraceptive option. A growing variety of female condom models are developed by condom manufacturers. In a number of countries, female condoms are increasingly distributed in public health facilities and sold via social marketing initiatives. Unfortunately, in my home-country female condoms are not for sale in the pharmacies and barely known by the public. In other words, there is much to celebrate, but certainly also much to do to ensure female condoms are accessible to all!

I am very happy to participate in the Global Female Condom Conference in Durban coming up next week, where advocates, young activists, programmers, researchers, manufacturers, governments and donors come together to share experience, knowledge and ideas, to help taking female condoms to the next level. For nearly three days, they will break their heads on what needs to be done to get a female condom in your pocket on a night out. Because don’t we all deserve a night of pleasurable, worry-free and safe sex?

In the media: Experts to discuss role of female condom at global forum in Durban. Kenia, Daily Nation (English)

According to Mrs Greetje Lubbi, the chairman of the international steering group, the Universal Access to Female Condoms Joint Programme (UAFC), there are around 200 million women whose reproductive health needs are not met and many young people have not yet heard about the dual protection method.

“With this conference we aim to initiate new activities and collaborations on the benefit of female condoms, innovate our ways of working by learning from each other and integrate female condoms in all relevant programmes and advocacy,” she said in a statement.

Press release: Female condoms in the spotlight on World Aids Day

On World Aids Day, 1 December 2015, experts and policy makers from all over the world will gather in Durban, South Africa to explore a bigger role for female condoms in the prevention of HIV/AIDS and unintended pregnancies. The organizers of the Global Female Condom Conference, which runs till 3 December, state that female condoms are still a highly underestimated protection method.

Devastating impact
Millions of people worldwide daily struggle with the consequences of unprotected sex. Sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies have a devastating impact on human lives as well as the economy of countries. Although female condoms prevent both pregnancies and infections and give women more control over protection during sex, accessibility to these products is still limited. The Global Female Condom Conference aims for a change.

Questions to be answered
How can decision makers be convinced to support the dissemination of female condoms? What will make the price of these products drop? What is the best way to promote them? What are the economic advantages? Can female condoms still be improved? What do men think of them? These and many more questions will be discussed and answered during the conference by government representatives, researchers, manufacturers, advocates and even users of female condoms.

Blog: Happy Global Female Condom Day!

That’s what I shouted at my neighbor this morning when I left the house. After an awkward look from his side, I realize that we need to pull up our sleeves. We still have work to do to counter misconceptions and to make female condoms accessible to all. Global Female Condom Day is your opportunity to contribute. Celebratory, colorful and loud: we use this day to break taboos and put female condoms in the limelight all around the world. Luckily, we also have another global event to look forward to with the Global Female Condom Conference at the end of this year.

Unique
Last year’s Global Female Condom Day shows how special and unique this day is. People across all continents danced and celebrated to visualize their demand for female condoms. Its truly worth watching these videos: you can barely stay in your seat! From Abuja to Boston, from Santiago to Amsterdam. Showing our demand for female condoms remains of key importance. Follow this year’s Global Female Condom Day via our website, Facebook or Twitter (#GFCD2015 and #femalecondoms).

Misconceptions
Unfortunately, misconceptions and obstacles remain in our way to make sure we can all use this wonderful product. Some people still think female condoms make noise or find them ‘ugly’. The only correct answer we have is that female condoms are safe, silent and pleasurable. They protect you against STIs and pregnancy and add a playful dimension to your sexual experience. What else do you want? With the number of happy female condom users growing by the day, we are convinced that female condoms could be a solution for many more men and women.

Global Female Condom Conference 2015
From 1-3 December, a large number of NGOs, researchers, donors, governments and producers gather in Durban, South Africa, to take female condoms to the next level. This Global Female Condom Conference is all about how to initiate female condom campaigns, how to innovate to meet people’s demands and how to integrate female condoms in policies, budgets and programs. Are you curious and want to learn more? Or do you want to share your experience with female condoms? You can register here!

Putting all these efforts together, I have good hopes that next year when I leave my house on the 16th of September, my neighbor greets me first: “Happy Global Female Condom Day!!!”